Society of Friends - Quakers

General Information

The Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers, is a body
of Christians that originated in 17th century England under
George Fox. In 1988 the society had 200,260 members, with
heavy concentrations in the United States (109,000), East
Africa (45,000) and Great Britain (18,000). Quakers unite in
affirming the immediacy of Christ's teaching; they hold that
believers receive divine guidance from an inward light,
without the aid of intermediaries or external rites.

Meetings for worship can be silent, without ritual or professional
clergy, or programmed, in which a minister officiates.

Although their antecedents lie in English Puritanism and in the
Anabaptist movement, the Society of Friends was formed during
the English Civil War. Around 1652, George Fox began preaching
that since there was "that of God in every man," a formal church
structure and educated ministry were unnecessary. His first
converts spread their faith throughout England, denouncing what
they saw as social and spiritual compromises and calling
individuals to an inward experience of God. In spite of schism
and persecution, the new movement expanded during the Puritan
Commonwealth (1649 - 60) and after the restoration of the
monarchy (1660). By openly defying restrictive legislation,
Friends helped achieve passage of the Toleration Act of 1689.

In colonial America, enclaves of Quakers existed in Rhode Island,
North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and western New Jersey. In
Pennsylvania, founded by William Penn as a refuge for Quakers
and as a "holy experiment" in religious toleration, Friends
maintained an absolute majority in the assembly until 1755 and
remained a potent force until the American Revolution. Between
1754 and 1776, Friends throughout America strengthened their
commitment to pacifism and began to denounce slavery. After
the Revolution, Friends concentrated on a wide variety of
reform activities: Indian rights, prison reform, temperance,
abolition, freedmen's rights, education, and the women's movement.

In a conflict over theology that was complicated by social
tensions, the Society underwent a series of schisms beginning in
1827 and ending with the formation of three major subgroups:
Hicksites (liberal), Orthodox (evangelical), and Conservative
(quietist). During the 20th century, however, Friends have
attempted to heal their differences. Many yearly meetings
have merged, and most Friends cooperate in organizations such
as the Friends World Committee for Consultation and the Friends
World Conferences. The rapid growth of pastoral Quakerism in
Africa and of silent meetings in Europe makes the Society of
Friends an international organization.

The American Friends Service Committee is an independent
service organization founded in 1917 to aid conscientious
objectors. Today it also provides help to the needy in the
United States and a number of Third World countries.

Religious Society of Friends

General Information

The Society of Friends (in full, Religious Society of Friends),
is the designation of a body of Christians more commonly known as
Quakers. Their fundamental belief is that divine revelation is
immediate and individual; all persons may perceive the word of God
in their soul, and Friends endeavor to heed it. Terming such
revelation the "inward light," the "Christ within,"
or the "inner light," the first Friends identified this
spirit with the Christ of history. They rejected a formal creed,
worshiped on the basis of silence, and regarded every participant as
a potential vessel for the word of God, instead of relying upon a
special, paid clergy set apart from the rest.

Beliefs

Quakerism emphasizes human goodness because of a belief that something
of God exists in everyone. At the same time, however, it recognizes
the presence of human evil and works to eradicate as much of it as
possible. Quakerism is a way of life; Friends place great emphasis
upon living in accord with Christian principles. Truth and sincerity
are Quaker bywords; thus, Quaker merchants refuse to bargain, for
bargaining implies that truth is flexible. Emulating Christ,
the Friends attempt to avoid luxury and emphasize simplicity in
dress, manners, and speech. Until late in the 19th century, they
retained certain forms of speech known as plain speech, which
employed "thee" as opposed to the more formal "you";
this usage indicated the leveling of social classes and the spirit
of fellowship integral to Quaker teaching.

In the administration and privileges of the society, no distinction
between the sexes is made. Membership qualifications are based on
moral and religious grounds and on the readiness of the candidate
to realize and accept the obligations of membership. Meetings for
worship are held regularly, usually once or twice a week, and are
intended to help members to feel God's presence as a guiding spirit
in their lives. In these meetings the members measure their insights
and beliefs against those of the meeting as a whole. Because the
religion of the Quakers was founded as a completely spiritual
belief requiring no physical manifestation, the meetings have
traditionally had no prearranged program, sermon, liturgy, or
outward rites. Today, however, more than half of the Friends
in the U.S. use paid ministers and conduct meetings for worship
in a programmed or semiprogrammed manner.

In both the unprogrammed and programmed meetings members accept a
great deal of responsibility. A group called Worship and Ministry,
or Ministry and Oversight, accepts considerable responsibility for
the spiritual life of the meeting. Overseers undertake to provide
pastoral care for the member or share in that care when a regular
pastor is employed. The religious discipline and administration of
the society are regulated by periodic meetings known as Meetings
for Business. One or more congregations constitute a Monthly Meeting,
one or more Monthly Meetings form a Quarterly Meeting, and the
Quarterly Meetings within a stated geographical area form a Yearly
Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. The decisions of the
Yearly Meeting are the highest authority for all doctrinal or
administrative questions raised in any subsidiary meeting within
its jurisdiction. Usually no voting takes place in Quaker meetings;
members seek to discover the will of God by deliberation concerning
any matter at hand. As an integral part of Quaker doctrine, at
meetings members are regularly and formally queried on their adherence
to Quaker principles. These queries relate to such matters as the
proper education of their children, the use of intoxicants, care
of the needy, and, on a broader scale, racial and religious toleration
and the treatment of all offenders in a spirit of love rather
than with the object of punishment. Most American groups of Friends
are represented by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC),
founded in 1917. Originally established to handle many of their
philanthropic activities, the organization today is primarily concerned
with creating a society in which violence need not exist.

Origins

The Society of Friends may be traced to the many Protestant bodies
that appeared in Europe during the Reformation. These groups,
stressing an individual approach to religion, strict discipline,
and the rejection of an authoritarian church, formed one expression
of the religious temper of 17th-century England. Many doctrines of
the Society of Friends were taken from those of earlier religious
groups, particularly those of the Anabaptists and Independents,
who believed in lay leadership, independent congregations, and
complete separation of church and state. The society, however,
unlike many of its predecessors, did not begin as a formal religious
organization. Originally, the Friends were the followers of
George Fox, an English lay preacher who, about 1647, began to
preach the doctrine of "Christ within"; this concept
later developed as the idea of the "inner light."
Although Fox did not intend to establish a separate religious body,
his followers soon began to group together into the semblance of an
organization, calling themselves by such names as Children of Light,
Friends of Truth, and, eventually, Society of Friends.
In reference to their agitated movements before moments of divine
revelation, they were popularly called Quakers. The first
complete exposition of the doctrine of "inner light" was
written by the Scottish Quaker Robert Barclay in An Apology for
the True Christian Divinity, as the Same Is Held Forth and Preached
by the People Called in Scorn Quakers (1678), considered the
greatest Quaker theological work.

The Friends were persecuted from the time of their inception as a group.
They interpreted the words of Christ in the Scriptures literally,
particularly, "Do not swear at all" (Matthew 5:34),
and "Do not resist one who is evil" (Matthew 5:39).
They refused, therefore, to take oaths; they preached against war,
even to resist attack; and they often found it necessary to oppose
the authority of church or state. Because they rejected any
organized church, they would not pay tithes to the Church of England.
Moreover, they met publicly for worship, a contravention of the
Conventicle Act of 1664, which forbade meetings for worship other
than that of the Church of England. Nevertheless, thousands of people,
some on the continent of Europe and in America as well as in the
British Isles, were attracted by teachings of the Friends.

Friends began to immigrate to the American colonies in the 1660s.
They settled particularly in New Jersey, where they purchased land
in 1674, and in the Pennsylvania colony, which was granted to William
Penn in 1681. By 1684, approximately 7000 Friends had settled in
Pennsylvania. By the early 18th century, Quaker meetings were being
held in every colony except Connecticut and South Carolina. The
Quakers were at first continuously persecuted, especially in
Massachusetts, but not in Rhode Island, which had been founded
in a spirit of religious toleration. Later, they became prominent
in colonial life, particularly in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
During the 18th century the American Friends were pioneers in
social reform; they were friends of the Native Americans, and as
early as 1688 some protested officially against slavery in the
colonies. By 1787 no member of the society was a slave owner.
Many of the Quakers who had immigrated to southern colonies joined
the westward migrations into the Northwest Territory because they
would not live in a slave-owning society.

During the 19th century differences of opinion arose among the
Friends over doctrine. About 1827, the American Quaker minister
Elias Hicks became involved in a schism by questioning the
authenticity and divine authority of the Bible and the historical
Christ; many Friends seceded with Hicks and were known as Hicksites.
This schism alarmed the rest of the society, who became known as
Orthodox Friends, and a countermovement was begun to relax the
formality and discipline of the society, with a view to making
Quakerism more evangelical. The evangelical movement, led by the
British Quaker philanthropist Joseph John Gurney, aroused considerable
opposition, particularly in the U.S., and another schism resulted
among the Orthodox Friends. A new sect, the Orthodox Conservative
Friends, called Wilburites after their leader John Wilbur, was
founded to emphasize the strict Quakerism of the 17th century.
It is very small today. The general result of these modifications,
both those dealing with doctrine and those pertaining to the
relations of Quakers to the world in general, was a new spirit among
all the Friends. Most abandoned their strange dress and speech
and their hostility to such worldly pursuits as the arts and literature.

Numerically, the Friends have always been a relatively small group.
In the early 1980s world membership totaled about 200,000,
distributed in about 30 countries. The greatest number of Friends is
in the U.S., where, according to the latest available statistics,
the society had about 1100 congregations with about 117,000 members.
The Yearly Meetings in Africa, with about 39,000 members, and in
the United Kingdom and Ireland, with about 21,000 members, are the
next largest groups. Other groups are located in Central America,
Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The Friends World Committee for
Consultation is the international organization of the society.

Edwin B. Bronner

Quakers - Society of Friends

Advanced Information

Known also as Quakers, the Society of Friends can best be understood
through the lives of the early leaders. The founder was George Fox,
whose youth saw the rule of Charles I and his marriage to a French
princess who was a Roman Catholic, the Petition of Right, Archbishop
Laud's harsh rules for Nonconformists, the Puritan emigration to
America, and the meetings of the Long Parliament. His public career
coincided with the defeat and execution of Charles I, the Puritan
Commonwealth under Cromwell, the Stuart Restoration and the rule of
James II, the Bill of Rights, and the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688.
Some of his contemporaries were Locke, Hobbes, Milton, Dryden,
Bunyan, Cromwell, Newton, Harvey, Baxter, and Ussher.

In 1647 Fox experienced a profound change in his religious life. In
1652 he said that he had a vision at a place called Pendle Hill;
from that point on, he based his faith on the idea that God could
speak directly to any person.

Some of the first converts of Fox were called "Friends" or "Friends
in Truth." The term "Quaker" was described by Fox as follows. "The
priest scoffed at us and called us Quakers. But the Lord's power was
so over them, and the word of life was declared in such authority
and dread to them, that the priest began trembling himself; and one
of the people said, 'Look how the priest trembles and shakes, he is
turned a Quaker also.'" According to Fox, the first person to use
the term was Justice Bennet of Derby. Among the early converts were
English Puritans, Baptists, Seekers, and other Nonconformists. The
work spread to Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Quakerism took on certain characteristics such as simplicity in
the manner of living, encouraging women to be ministers,
spiritual democracy in meeting, absolute adherence to truth,
universal peace and brotherhood regardless of sex, class, nation,
or race. Quakers refused to remove their hats to those in
authority and used the singular "thee" and "thou" in their
speech, while the common people were supposed to address
their betters as "you." In turn, they influenced the thought
and social ethics of the English - speaking world far out
of proportion to their numbers. Fox was imprisoned
eight times during his life, but he pioneered care for the poor,
aged, and insane, advocated prison reform, opposed capital
punishment, war, and slavery, and stood for the just treatment of
American Indians.

George Fox died in 1691, and the movement went into a quiet period.
The center shifted to America. The first Friends to visit American
were Mary Fisher and Anne Austin, who arrived in Massachusetts in
1656. They were sent away by the magistrates, but others arrived
after them. In 1659 William Robinson and Marmaduke Stephenson were
hanged on Boston Common, as was Mary Dyer the following year.

Probably the best known historical figure in the Society of Friends
was William Penn. Born in 1644, he became a Quaker in 1667 and was
an embarrassment to his father, Admiral Penn. King Charles II gave
young William a grant of land in American to repay a debt to his
father, and thus was launched Pennsylvania, a "holy experiment."
By 1700 there were Friends meeting in all of the colonies.

Penn's tolerant policies attracted immigrants from many places.
Difficulties arose from the fact that the Quakers wanted only to be
at peace, while the British expected them to support the colonial
wars against the French and Indians. A similar situation arose when
the colonists revolted against the British in 1776.

A division occurred in the Society of Friends about 1827, with one
group supporting the views of Elias Hicks, who believed that one
should follow the inner light. The other group was influenced by
the evangelical movement and put great emphasis on belief in the
divinity of Christ, the authority of the Scriptures,
and the atonement.

Friends were also active in the antislavery movement. John Woolman,
Anthony Benezet, Lucretia Mott, and John Greenleaf Whittier were
involved in such activities as the underground railroad and the
Colonization Society. Benjamin Lundy's ideas were presented in The
Genius of Universal Emancipation.

The tradition of caring for others carried on through the American
Civil War, and the American Friends Service Committee was formed in
1917. The purpose of the organization was to provide young
conscientious objectors with alternative service opportunities
during wartime. A red and black star was chosen to
symbolize the group.

The Society of Friends are optimistic about the purposes of God
and the destiny of mankind. Their ultimate and final authority for
religious life and faith resides within each individual. Many, but
not all, seek for this truth through the guidance of the inner
light. They believe that they are bound to refuse obedience to a
government when its requirements are contrary to what they believe
to be the law of God, but they are willing to accept the penalties
for civil disobedience. They practice religious democracy in their
monthly meetings. After discussion of an issue, for example, the
clerk states what appears to be the mind of the group; but if a
single Friend feels that he cannot unite with the group, no
decision is made. Their stand for religious toleration is
symbolized by the inscription on the statue of Mary Dyer across
from Boston Common: "Witness for Religious Freedom. Hanged on
Boston Common, 1660."

The Society of Friends has no written creed. Their philosophical
differences can be seen in the fact that Richard Nixon was born
into the group, while Staughton Lynd joined because of their
teachings. They do have an interest in education, with the founding
of Haverford, Earlham, Swarthmore, and other colleges. The teaching
by example has caused some to ask why Quakers do not preach what
they practice. Their ideal is to pursue truth at all costs, and it
is hard to imagine a higher calling here on earth.

J E Johnson
(Elwell Evangelical Dictionary)

Bibliography
H Barbour, The Quakers in Puritan England; W C
Braithwaite, The Beginnings of Quakerism and The Second Period of
Quakerism; R M Jones, The Later Periods of Quakerism; E Russell,
The History of Quakerism; D E Trueblood, The People Called
Quakers; M H Bacon, The Quiet Rebels; A N Brayshaw, The
Quakers: Their Story and Message; H H Brinton, Friends for Three
Hundred Years; W R Williams, The Rich Heritage of Quakerism.

Society of Friends (Quakers)

Catholic Information

The official designation of an Anglo-American religious sect originally styling
themselves "Children of Truth" and "Children of Light", but "in scorn by the
world called Quakers".

The founder of the sect, George Fox, son of a well-to-do weaver, was born at
Fenny Drayton in Leicestershire, England, July, 1624. His parents, upright
people and strict adherents of the established religion, destined him for the
Church; but since the boy, at an early period, felt a strong aversion to a
"hireling ministry", he was, after receiving the bare rudiments of education,
apprenticed to a shoemaker. He grew to manhood a pure and honest youth, free
from the vices of his age, and "endued", says Sewel, "with a gravity and
stayedness of mind seldom seen in children". In his nineteenth year, while at a
fair with two friends, who were "professors" of religion, he was so shocked by a
proposal they made him to join them in drinking healths, that he abandoned their
company. Returning home, he spent a sleepless night, in the course of which he
thought he heard a voice from heaven crying out to him: "Thou seest how young
men go together into vanity, and old people into the earth; thou must forsake
all, young and old, keep out of all, and be a stranger unto all." Interpreting
the injunction literally, Fox left his father's house, penniless and with Bible
in hand to wander about the country in search of light. His mental anguish at
times bordered on despair. He sought counsel from renowned "professors"; but
their advice that he should take a wife, or sing psalms, or smoke tobacco, was
not calculated to solve the problems which perplexed his soul. Finding no food
or consolation in the teachings of the Church of England or of the innumerable
dissenting sects which flooded the land, he was thrown back upon himself and
forced to accept his own imaginings as "revelations". "I fasted much", he tells
us in his Journal, "walked abroad in solitary places many days, and often took
my Bible and sat in hollow trees and lonesome places until night came on; and
frequently in the night walked mournfully about by myself. For I was a man of
sorrows in the first working of the Lord in me." This anguish of spirit
continued, with intermissions, for some years; and it is not surprising that the
lonely youth read into his Bible all his own idiosyncrasies and limitations.
Founding his opinions on isolated texts, he gradually evolved a system at
variance with every existing form of Christianity. His central dogma was that of
the "inner light", communicated directly to the individual soul by Christ "who
enlightenth every man that cometh into the world". To walk in this light and
obey the voice of Christ speaking within the soul was to Fox the supreme and
sole duty of man. Creeds and churches, councils, rites, and sacraments were
discarded as outward things. Even the Scriptures were to be interpreted by the
inner light. This was surely carrying the Protestant doctrine of private
judgment to its ultimate logical conclusion. Inconvenient passages of Holy Writ,
such as those establishing Baptism and the Eucharist, were expounded by Fox in
an allegorical sense; whilst other passages were insisted upon with a
literalness before unknown. Thus, from the text "Swear not at all", he drew the
illicitness of oaths, even when demanded by the magistrate. Titles of honour,
salutations, and all similar things conducive to vanity, such as doffing the hat
or "scraping with the leg", were to be avoided even in the presence of the king.
War, even if defensive, was declared unlawful. Art, music, drama, field-sports,
and dancing were rejected as unbecoming the gravity of a Christian. As for
attire, he pleaded for that simplicity of dress and absence of ornament which
later became the most striking peculiarity of his followers. There was no room
in his system for the ordained and salaried clergy of other religions, Fox
proclaiming that every man, woman or child, when moved by the Spirit, had an
equal right to prophesy and give testimony for the edification of the brethren.
Two conclusions, with disagreeable consequence to the early Friends, were drawn
from this rejection of a "priesthood"; the first was, that they refused to pay
tithes or church rates; the second, that they celebrated marriage among
themselves, without calling in the services of the legally appointed minister.
Impelled by frequent "revelations", Fox began the public preaching of his novel
tenets in 1647. It was not his intention to increase the religious confusion of
the time by the addition of a new sect. He seems to have been persuaded that the
doctrine by means of which he himself had "come up in spirit through the flaming
sword into the paradise of God" would be greeted alike by Christian, Turk, and
heathen. The enthusiasm and evident sincerity of the uncouth young preacher
gained him numerous converts in all parts of Britain; whilst the accession of
Margaret, wife of Judge Fell, afterwards of Fox himself, secured to the Friends
a valuable rallying-point in the seclusion of Swarthmoor Hall, Lancashire. In an
incredibly short time, a host of unordained apostles, male and female, were
scouring the two hemispheres, carrying to the ends of the earth the gospel of
Fox. One enthusiast hastened to Rome to enlighten the pope; a second went to the
Orient to convert the sultan. The antagonistic religions dominant in England
before and after the Restoration, Presbyterianism and the Established Church,
made equally determined efforts, through the aid of the civil power, to crush
the growing sect. From the detailed record which the Friends, in imitation of
the primitive Christians, kept of the sufferings of their brethren, we gather
that during the reign of Charles II, 13,562 "Quakers" were imprisoned in various
parts of England, 198 were transported as slaves beyond seas, and 338 died in
prison or of wounds received in violent assaults on their meetings. They fared
still worse at the hands of the Puritans in Massachusetts, who spared no cruelty
to rid the colony of this "cursed sect of heretics", and hanged four of them,
three men and a woman, on Boston Common. What marked them out for persecution
was not so much their theory of the inward light or their rejection of rites and
sacraments, as their refusal to pay tithes, or take the oaths prescribed by law,
or to have anything to do with the army; these offences being aggravated in the
estimation of the magistrates by their obstinacy in refusing to uncover their
head in court and "thouing and theeing" the judges. The suffering Friends found
at last a powerful protector in the person of their most illustrious convert,
William, son of admiral Penn, who defended his coreligionists in tracts and
public disputes, and, through his influence with the last two Stuart kings, was
frequently successful in shielding them from the violence of the mob and the
severity of the magistrates. Penn furthermore secured for them a safe refuge in
his great colony of Pennsylvania, the proprietorship of which he acquired from
Charles II in liquidation of a loan advanced to the Crown by his father. With
the accession to the throne of James II the persecution of the Friends
practically ceased; and by successive Acts of Parliament passed after the
Revolution of 1688, their legal disabilities were removed; their scruples about
paying tithes and supporting the army were respected; and their affirmation was
accepted as equivalent to an oath.

Meanwhile, Fox, in the intervals between his frequent imprisonments, had
laboured to impart the semblance of an organization to the society; whilst the
excesses of some of his followers compelled him to enact a code of discipline.
His efforts in both these directions encountered strong opposition from many who
had been taught to regard the inward light as the all-sufficient guide. However,
the majority, sacrificing consistency, acquiesced; and before the death of Fox,
13 Jan., 1691, Quakerism was established on the principles which it has since
substantially preserved.

Although the Friends repudiate creeds as "external" and "human", yet they, at
least the early Quakers and their orthodox modern followers, admit the
fundamental dogmas of Christianity as expounded in the Apostles' Creed.
Rejecting as non-Scriptural the term Trinity, they confess the Godhead of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; the doctrine of the Redemption and
salvation through Christ; and the sanctification of souls through the Holy
Spirit. Their ablest apologists, as Robert Barclay and William Penn, have not
been able to explain satisfactorily in what respect the "inward light" differs
from the light of the individual reason; neither have they reconciled the
doctrine of the supreme authority of the "inner voice" with the "external"
claims of Scripture and the historic Christ. These doctrinal weaknesses were
fruitful germs of dissensions in later times.

Though one of the earliest of Fox's "testimonies" was in reprobation of
"steeple-houses", that is, the stately edifices with which Catholic piety had
covered the soil of England, nevertheless, as his adherents grew in numbers, he
was forced to gather them into congregations for purposes of worship and
business. These "particular meetings" assembled on the first day of the week.
They worshipped without any form of liturgy and in silence until some man,
woman, or child was moved by the Spirit to "give testimony", the value of which
was gauged by the common sense of the assembly. By a process of development, a
form of church government came into being, which has been described as follows:

"The whole community of Friends is modelled somewhat on the Presbyterian
system. Three gradations of meanings or synods -- monthly, quarterly, and
yearly -- administer the affairs of the Society, including in their
supervision matters both of spiritual discipline and secular policy. The
monthly meetings, composed of all the congregations within a definite circuit,
judge of the fitness of new candidates for membership, supply certificates to
such as move to other districts, choose fit persons to be elders, to watch
over the ministry, attempt the reformation or pronounce the expulsion of all
such as walk disorderly, and generally seek to stimulate the members to
religious duty. They also make provision for the poor of the Society, and
secure the education of their children. Overseers are also appointed to assist
in the promotion of these objects. At monthly meetings also marriages are
sanctioned previous to their solemnization at a meeting for worship. Several
monthly meetings compose a quarterly meeting, to which they forward general
reports of their condition, and at which appeals are heard from their
decisions. The yearly meeting holds the same relative position to the
quarterly meetings that the latter do to the monthly meetings, and has the
general superintendence of the Society in a particular country." (See
Rowntree, Quakerism, Past and Present, p. 60.)

All the yearly meetings are supreme and independent, the only bond of union
between them being the circular letters which pass between them. The annual
letter of London Yearly Meeting is particularly prized. With the passing away of
its founders and the cessation of persecution, Quakerism lost its missionary
spirit and hardened into a narrow and exclusive sect. Instead of attracting new
converts, it developed a mania for enforcing "discipline", and "disowned", that
is, expelled, multitudes of its members for trifling matters in which the
ordinary conscience could discern no moral offence. In consequence, they
dwindled away from year to year, being gradually absorbed by other more vigorous
sects, and many drifting into Unitarianism.

In the United States, where, in the beginning of the last century, they had
eight prosperous yearly meetings, their progress was arrested by two schisms,
known as the Separation of 1828 and the Wilburite Controversy. The disturbance
of 1828 was occasioned by the preaching of Elias Hicks (1748-1830), an eloquent
and extremely popular speaker, who, in his later years, put forth unsound views
concerning the Person and work of Christ. He was denounced as a Unitarian; and,
although the charge seemed well founded, many adhered to him, not so much from
partaking his theological heresies, as to protest against the excessive power
and influence claimed by the elders and overseers. After several years of
wrangling, the Friends were split into two parties, the Orthodox and the
Hicksite, each disowning the other, and claiming to be the original society. Ten
years later the Orthodox body was again divided by the opposition of John Wilbur
to the evangelistic methods of an English missionary, Joseph John Gurney. As the
main body of the Orthodox held with Gurney, the Wilburite faction set up a
schismatic yearly meeting. These schisms endure to the present day. There is
also a microscopical sect known as "Primitive" Friends, mainly offshoots from
the Wilburites who claim to have eliminated all the later additions to the faith
and practice of the early founders of the society.

In the fields of education, charity, and philanthropy the Friends have occupied
a place far out of proportion to their numbers. There exist in the United States
many important colleges of their foundation. They are exemplary in the care of
their poor and sick. Long before the other denominations, they denounced slavery
and would not permit any of their members to own slaves. They did not, however,
advocate the abolition of slavery by violent measures. They have also been
eminently solicitous for the welfare and fair treatment of the Indians.
According to Dr. H.K. Carroll, the acknowledged authority on the subject of
religious statistics (The Christian Advocate, Jan., 1907), the standing of the
various branches of Friends in the United States is as follows:

Orthodox: 1302 ministers, 830 churches, 94,507 communicants

Hicksite: 115 ministers, 183 churches, 19,545 communicants

Wilburite: 38 ministers, 53 churches, 4,468 communicants

Primitive: 11 ministers, 9 churches, 232 communicants

Publication information
Written by James F. Loughlin. Transcribed by Thomas J. Bress.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VI. Published 1909. New York: Robert Appleton
Company. Nihil Obstat, September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John
M. Farley, Archbishop of New York

Bibliography

SCHAFF, Creeds and Christendom (New York, 1884), I, III; THOMAS, ALLAN C. AND
RICHARD H., History of the Society of Friends in America in American Church
History Series (New York, 1894), XII--contains excellent bibliography; SMITH,
JOSEPH, Descriptive Catalogue of Friends' Books (London, 1867; supplement,
London, 1893); IDEM, Bibliotheca Anti-Quakeriana, A Catalogue of Books Adverse
to the Society of Friends (London, 1873); JANNEY, History of the Religious
Society of Friends from the Rise to the year 1828 (2nd ed., Philadelphia,
1837-50). The Works of FOX were published at London, 1694-1706; the Works of
BARCLAY were edited by WILLIAM PENN (London, 1692).

The individual articles presented here were generally first published
in the early 1980s. This subject presentation was first placed
on the Internet in May 1997.

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